50 Ways To Add More Colour To Your Life

It will come as no surprise that I love colour; anybody who knows me, reads my blog, or follows my social media accounts could tell you I'm pretty darn obsessed with all things colourful. I'm a self-confessed colour-junkie and I don't care who knows it!

Colour makes me happy, so I try to inject in in to all areas of my life from the clothes and make up I wear to the home decor I buy, the crafts I make to my blog photography, and everything in between. Anything to make my life that little more colourful! Life is too short to live in black and white.

I truly believe that you can never have too much colour in your life. A splash of colour can help to brighten a mood and lift your spirits, and even help you through those dark and dreary Autumn days. It adds personality to your life and your style, and plenty of fun to the most mundane of daily tasks. And most importantly, it can bring happiness to both you and the people around you, and remind you that you don't always have to take life or yourself too seriously.

I've always found it easy to add colour to my life, but I know embracing colour doesn't always come naturally to most people, so I thought I'd write a list of simple ways to add more colour to your life for anybody who wants to live a little more colourfully. 

So, here are my 50 ways to add more colour to your life:

1. Bake a rainbow cake.
2. Paint your nails in all the colours of the rainbow.
3. Dye your hair a fun colour- or take it one step further and go for the whole rainbow.
4. Paint a room or feature wall a bold colour.
5. Fill your home with colourful flowers. Sunflowers, purple irises, yellow tulips, hot pink gerberas...
6. Dress in colourful clothes.
7. Collect colourful art, and display them on your walls.
8. Paint something in colourful colours.
9. Experiment with colourful eye make up looks.
10. Organise your bookshelves by colour to get a rainbow effect.
11. Create an inspiring feature wall above your desk with bright and colourful postcards, art, photos, hoop art etc.
12. Scout out some colourful street art and take photos in front of it.
13. Fill vases and jars with rainbow coloured jelly beans, sprinkles or glass beads for fun, colourful decor.
14. Take baths with Lush bath bombs, and bubble bars.
15. Accessorize an outfit with a colourful bag or pair of shoes.
16. Invest in a colourful, statement piece of furniture or two for your home.
17. Collect rainbow-coloured things.
18. Crochet some colourful granny square blankets to brighten up your bed or sofas.
19. Wear bold shades of lipstick.
20. Add lots of colourful flowers to your garden or balcony.
21. Start a novelty bag collection and display them on your bedroom door, on a book case, or on your bedroom walls.
22. Accessorize your gadgets with funky colourful cases.
23. Make your planner, diary, or journal as colourful as possible with stationery, washi tape, and coloured pens.
24. Hang your favourite photos and pictures in colourful frames.
25. Brighten up your rainy day with a rainbow umbrella.
26. Add a colourful coat, hat, scarf, and / or gloves to your Autumn / Winter outfits.
27. String up multi-coloured fairy lights in your home.
28. If you craft, always craft in beautiful colours.
29. Enjoy colourful art at art galleries.
30. Fill your home with colourful home decor.
31. Eat a whole rainbow of fruit and veg.
32. Throw colourful confetti in to your photos.
33. Add colourful buttons to an old coat, or cardigan.
34. Give your computer a colourful screen saver, and use rainbow decals to jazz up your keyboard.
35. Buy sun catchers that shine rainbow beams of light in to your home.
36. Rock some fun colourful jewellery.
37. Make your Instagram colour-themed.
38. Feeling brave? Get a colourful tattoo!
39. Wear a different shade of colourful nail polish every day for a month.
40. Sew, cross stitch or embroider in colourful threads.
41. Instantly brighten your bedroom with a colourful duvet set, curtains, blankets, and pillows.
42. Rock a pair of colourful glasses or sunglasses.
43. Hang up colourful paper garlands, pom poms, and honeycomb decorations around your home.
44. Go to a Pride parade.
45. Send colourful snail mail and gift boxes to friends and family. And always wrap presents in colourful paper by default.
46. Use colourful stationery to brighten any task.
47. Give your blog a colourful redesign.
48. Add rainbow sprinkles to all your desserts.
49. Take part in a colour run.
50. Unwind with an adult colouring book, and the most colourful pens or coloured pencils you can find.

How do you inject colour in to your life?

Urban Decay Full Spectrum Eyeshadow Palette Review With Swatches

Colourful eye make up is one of my favourite vices in life, and it has been almost from the moment I began wearing make up aged eleven. While most people favour neutral shades like taupe, tan, and chocolate, I prefer and feel most comfortable wearing colourful make up, and love to wear the whole rainbow. Greens, yellows, purples... the more colourful the better!

So, naturally, when I first saw photos of the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette ahead of its release late last Autumn, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets with excitement. I knew I had to have it, so I stalked the Internet until it became available, and snapped one up the morning it went on sale. There was no way I was risking missing out on it by biding my time, especially as I'd missed out on the Spectrum palette the year before, no siree. I couldn't check out fast enough. I'm glad to say, when it arrived a few days later, the love was instantaneous, and we both lived happily ever after. I've been meaning to blog a review of the palette ever since, but for some reason it's taken until now to put finger to key. Better late than never, though, right?

So, the Urban Decay Full Spectrum palette is Urban Decay's biggest, and most colourful eyeshadow palette yet, and it's the palette my rainbow-coloured dreams are made of. It features twenty-one eyeshadow shades covering the whole spectrum of the rainbow, from bold brights to matte white, bringing you all the colour options you could possibly need in one handy monochrome palette. It's quite simply a colour addict's dream.

The palette includes eighteen new shades, and three exclusives that have appeared in previous palettes, Alchemy from Vice 3, and Hatter and Metamorphosis from the Alice Through The Looking Glass palette, giving Urban Decay fans plenty of new shades to play with, and another chance to own some exclusives you may have missed out on first time around. I was so excited to see Hatter was included in Full Spectrum because I never managed to get my hands on the Looking Glass palette, but had been admiring that gorgeous vibrant green shadow from afar for ages; it's so beautiful and definitely one of my favourites of the twenty-one. Alchemy has become another firm favourite, so I'm happy to have a few recycled shades amongst the eighteen brand new colours. The eyeshadows also come in a variety of finishes, including mattes, shimmers, pearls, and metallics, and with so much variety, you're never going to run out of options with Full Spectrum.

The eyeshadows are conveniently arranged in a rainbow of ombré trios which are designed to be worn together for flawless results, so if you usually have difficulty pairing shadows together, you'll find colour-matching shades a breeze with this palette.

Of course, you aren't limited to wearing the same seven trios; you could wear a single shadow for a bold pop of colour, choose colours from one of the three colour groups, or mix and match to your heart's delight. You could even layer the white shadow under the other shades to make the colours even more vibrant! The possibilities are endless. Really, you're only limited by your imagination and willingness to experiment.

The shades included in the set are:

♥ Alchemy- a deep fuchsia satin.

♥ Gossip- a bright metallic pink with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Paranoia- a soft metallic blue-pink.

♥ Warning- a deep metallic copper.

♥ Seize- a bright metallic coral with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Jones- a metallic orange with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Midnight Blaze- a black matte with yellow-gold pearl.

♥ Calavera- a bright yellow matte with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Goldmine- a metallic yellow-gold.

♥ Hundred- a deep metallic forest-green.

♥ Hatter- a vibrant green with tonal micro-sparkle.

♥ Mean- a bright metallic lime green.

♥ Minx- a deep navy matte with floating tonal pearl.

♥ Blindsided- a bright teal blue matte with floating pearl.

♥ Metamorphosis- a vibrant periwinkle blue with micro-sparkle.

♥ Delirious- a deep plum matte with subtle floating pearl.

♥ Sketch- a metallic medium purple.

♥ Faded- a lavender with gold shimmer.

♥ Platonic- a black matte with iridescent glitter.

♥ Iced- an oyster silver with shimmer.

♥ Bump- a white matte.

I've swatched all twenty-one shades on the underside of my arm in palette order to show you how gorgeous, vibrant, and well pigmented they look on the skin.

Top Row

Middle Row

Bottom Row

It's difficult to choose favourites because they're all so beautiful, but right now I think I'm leaning towards Mean, Hatter, Goldmine, Gossip, and Seize. The shades are all to die for! Evidently, I love a good metallic. There isn't a shade I don't love in the palette, although Bump, the matte white, and Iced, the oyster silver, get a little lost on my super pale skin, and are best layered over other colours, or for highlighting the inner sockets.

Now, you may be looking at this palette feeling a little intimidated by all of that colour, but this palette really isn't as loud and as scary as it may look. Yes, it is a very colourful collection of eyeshadows, but only a handful of them are bold brights- the ones in the middle row- and they can be toned down with a blending brush, or used sparingly if you prefer. The shadows along the top are darker, smokey shades that could be a fun alternative to a black or navy smokey eye, and the eyeshadows in the bottom row are a little softer, and a little more subtle than those in the row above. You can create all kinds of look with this palette, and not just 'scary' rainbow bright ones; it's a surprisingly versatile palette. You can always start by experimenting with the softer and darker shades and work up to those striking brights once you're built up your confidence. For those of you who are already confident with colour, just you try to resist those brights! I promise you, it can't be done! This is the make up equivalent of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!

Each eyeshadow in the palette is infused with Urban Decay's Pigment Infusion System, which is the propriety blend of ingredients which gives each Urban Decay eyeshadow its amazing velvety texture, rich colour, serious staying power, and blendability. It certainly delivers what it promises; the eyeshadows are highly pigmented with fantastic colour pay-off, so you only need to use a little product to get gorgeous, vibrant results that stand out on the skin and make your eyes pop. Most of the shades aren't quite as bold as those in the Electric palette, but they're still more vivid than most. The shadows have a wonderfully thick formula that really do feel like velvet on the skin, and as usual, the quality is amazing. There's none of that chalkiness you often get with colourful eyeshadows, with the exception of the white shadow 'Bump', which I find a little crumblier. 

I have to say, I'm so impressed with the results I get from these eyeshadows. They're vibrant, they blend so beautifully, and they even last a good eight or nine hours on my skin without sliding off and needing retouching- which is pretty darn impressive because I'm constantly overheated thanks to fibromyalgia, and most make up slides off my face when I overheat.

They also come off easily with both cleansing wipes and micellar water, although a couple of the brights, including Blindsided and Sketch, leave some staining on the skin that can take a day or so to fade. I'd advise wearing a good primer underneath, and perhaps avoiding these shades a couple of days before an important event or if you want to brave the world fresh-faced the next day.

Moving on to the packaging, the eyeshadows are packaged in a large, hard black plastic case with tonal spectrum-like lines running from left to right on the top and sides of the palette, with a statement rainbow faceted UD jewel embellishing the top. While the case is heavy and sturdy, I personally think it looks and feels rather cheap, and doesn't follow the same quality and tastefullness as other Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes. I know some beauty bloggers have been raving about how much they love it, but the packaging for Full Spectrum just doesn't wow me. It also scratches really easily, as you can see by all the tiny white dust-like marks around the branding.

Once I open the lid, however, my feelings warm again. The black of the palette really makes the colours of the eyeshadows pop, and being the colour addict that I am, I always get the urge to dive right in and paint my eyelids with all of those beautiful colours.

The palette's huge square mirror makes creating any look super easy and convenient. It's actually large enough to see your whole face in, which is fantastic, and quite unusual for an eyeshadow palette. Other make up brands take note; most of us want to see our whole faces when we're doing our make up! Put big mirrors like this one in your palettes, please!

Full Spectrum also comes with a full-sized, double-ended, crease and eyeshadow brush, which I expected to be a fantastic tool as Urban Decay's make up brushes are usually incredible, but unfortunately, I'm left disappointed. Neither the crease brush or the eyeshadow brush picks up or packs on much product; so it's pretty much useless for everything but blending. I have to use other brushes in my collection to get the results I'm looking for, which is a shame, but not really an issue for me as I own a good collection of good quality make up brushes already. Please don't let the brush put you off this palette, though; it's still worth it's weight in gold! The brush is the only thing I can really fault with this amazing palette!

All in all, I'm well and truly impressed with the Full Spectrum eyeshadow palette. The shades are all gorgeous and highly pigmented, the formula is wonderful, they've got serious staying power, and they look amazing on my eyelids. What more could a girl ask for? The eyeshadows are honestly some of the best, and most beautiful colourful eyeshadows I've ever used.

It's the ultimate colourful eyeshadow palette for anybody who loves colourful eye make up and for anybody who wants to start experimenting with it. There is so much you can get out of this palette, and those of you with amazing make up skills will be able to create the most wonderful, elaborate, vibrant looks with it. It's a colour junkie's dream! Sure, it's not for everybody, but if you love colourful make up, trust me; you need this palette in your life! Step aside from the Naked palettes and give Full Spectrum a try; I promise you won't regret it- I sure haven't!

Full Spectrum is available now from Urban Decay and all good department stores, priced at £43. Snap one up before it goes!

Are you a fan of colourful make up, or do you prefer to play it safe with neutrals?

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The World In Stitches Geometric Heart Cross Stitch

If you read my cross stitch posts, you might remember those colourful modern cross stitch kits from The World In Stitches that I was raving about around a month or so ago. I'd picked up four new kits- two mandalas, a geometric heart, and a geometric square made up of lots of little geometric squares, and couldn't wait to get started.

Well, I've already completed the two geometric kits, and I've got the first one to show you today. (Technically, it's the second one I made, but it's the first one I have ready to share).

If you hadn't already guessed, this is the geometric heart, which is without a doubt one of the most fun and colourful cross stitches I've ever made. It was also one of the most enjoyable, because I got to play with a whole rainbow of coloured threads- and you guys all know how much I love to play with colour!

It was an easy little project to stitch because the entire design is made up simple colour-blocked triangles, and just a handful of single stitches. Once I got used to the sequence, I barely even needed to refer to the chart as I went along, and I actually found the simplicity and repetition really therapeutic.

It took me just over a week to finish it by putting in an hour or two at a time, along with a couple of five or six hour stints where I sewed rainbow triangles for hours on end. If I'd stepped up my game and dedicated more time in each sitting, it could've easily been made in just a few days, so it's a great short-term project if you want to cross stitch something without months or years of commitment.

I'm so pleased with how well my attempt turned out. I  love the end result,and how bold and colourful it is; it's so different to anything I've ever made before, and I definitely need to make more designs like it in the future. I still need to get it framed, but it's going to look great on the wall when I do, brightening up the room with that explosion of colour.

The kit includes almost everything you need to make the geometric heart- thick 14 count white aida, beautiful pre-sorted DMC threads, a needle, a colourful and easy to follow chart printed on thick, good quality paper, an image of what the completed cross stitch will look like, and even a beginner's guide to cross stitching to help you get started. You'll just need to get your hands on an embroidery hoop, embroidery scissors, and something to cross the chart off with as you go along. The entire kit is fantastic quality down to the paper the information is printed on, and I'm personally impressed given it's small price tag of just £8.49. It's amazing value for money!

If you're thinking of giving this cross stitch kit a go, I honestly couldn't recommend it to you more. It's perfect for beginners and pros alike, and the pattern is even simple enough for anyone who has never cross stitched a stitch before in their life to follow easily. I promise you'll quickly get the hang of it, and you'll enjoy making it!

You can find the geometric heart cross stitch kit over on The World In Stitches' Amazon and Etsy stores, along with lots of other gorgeous cross stitch kits and patterns.

I'll be back to show you the finished geometric squares cross stitch really soon.

Have you crossed stitched anything lately? Are there any other craft projects you've been making?

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My Christmas Cross Stitch Makes 2016
My Christmas Cross Stitch Makes 2015
Operation Cross Stitch

Photo Diary | June 2016

I'm sorry it's been so quiet around these parts lately. I'm sure you're bored of hearing me say that; I'm bored of saying it, but I am sorry for being such a shit blogger and neglecting my blog. 

It's not that I haven't wanted or tried to blog; I have a head full of ideas and I've been raring to go, but my health has had other ideas. 

With hospital visits and the puplet using up all my spoons, horrendous pain in my arms and hands getting worse and limiting the use of my hand-claws, my vision being blurry through my glasses (going for a long-overdue eye test next week), and being placed on a new painkiller that's been giving me abdominal pains, writing, taking, and editing photos haven't been easy. Add in the usual aches and pains, and combine it all together, and that's why Polka Spots has been neglected over the last few months. My health has had to come first. It's really frustrating, but what can you do? Hopefully one of these days I'll get back on track, and make up for lost time.

I have been doing my best to snap photos of the little things to share on Instagram, though (that is, when the app on my phone has been working, which isn't often), so I thought it was about time I shared a new photo diary with you guys. I've been working on making my Instagram a colourful place, as I'm a colour-junkie, and I love to inject more colour in to the world. I don't know why, but colour just makes me so damn happy. I can't get enough of it. I've posted lots of colourful photos over the last few months, and I hope you like the following snap shots as much as I do.

1. Alice in Wonderland Dormouse Tsum Tsum. // 2. Hobbycraft Haul. // 3. Sunday entertainment. 4. Le sister's birthday presents. // 5. Wrapping presents in pretty tissue paper. // 6. Birthday presents for my sister.

1. Alice in Wonderland Tsum Tsums (series one). // 2. Writing in Cath Kidston notebooks. // 3. My awesome Accessorize telephone box bag. // 4. My new bicycle print Lindy Bop Bretta tea dress. // 5. Making progress on my colourful cross stitch. // 6. Perfect lip and lipstick print, heart-pocketed Lindy Bop Brittany dress.

1. The biggest ice cream ever. // 2. Chocolate bunny shortly before decapitation. // 3. Rosie eating daisies. // 4. Coffee and OPI nail polish wins. // 5. Cheerful tulips. // 6. Easter chocolate from the bestie.

1. Billie and Blossom polka dot tea dress. // 2. Post-hospital double cheeseburger. // 3. Pretty Cath Kidston diary. // 4. Bluebell woods. // 5. Cath Kidson purse. // 6. Making a daisy chain.

1. Working on my cross stitch sampler. // 2. Pretty drive home from the hospital. // 3. My brooch collection. // 4. I made a daisy chain! // 5. Happy soaps. // 6. Pink blossom.

1. Telephone Box. // 2. Little blue butterfly on the holly bush. // 3. Oxford architecture. // 4. A lost balloon soaring over Oxford. // 5. My garden after a freak hail storm. // 6. Bluebells and headstones in Oxford's St. Mary Magdalen Church graveyard.

If you'd like to see more photos like these, you can keep up to date with my little snap shots on Instagram here.

Thanks for reading.

Colourful Collage: Purple

I'm sorry that it's been so quiet on the blog this past week. I've had a painful, misshapen-claw for a hand since I tried to write two paragraphs on a medical form last Tuesday, and I've been struggling to use my hands to write and type ever since. It's left me with horrendous pain in every bone and muscle in my hands, which has been more painful than the time I broke my wrist, and it's only just beginning to ease now, a week later. My hands are still really sore, but they're less stiff now, so I'm beginning to type again, albeit ridiculously slowly. I'm sure they'll be back to normal in a few days, and once they are, I'll do my best to catch up with comments and emails as soon as I can.

I've had issues with my hands painfully cramping up during some tasks for years, but this is definitely the worst case yet, and the more it happens, the more sure I am that some kind of arthritis is to blame. It does run in both sides of my family. I'm going to bring it up with the rheumatologist again soon, as it's getting worse and happening more frequently, and that's beginning to worry me a little. I'm doing absolutely fine, so don't worry... I'm just stupidly worrying about what state I'll be in when I'm a crotchety old lady if I can't even hand write two paragraphs in capital letters at thirty. Old age is going to be funnn! Haha! 

Anyway, now I've bored you to tears, let's move on to the proper blog post...

It's been so long since I last put together a colour-themed flatlay, and I have to say, I've missed making them. Now I've finally got myself some large sheets of blank card to give my photos clean, uncluttered backgrounds, I'm eager to continue with the series, so here we are. The last collage I blogged was navy blue themed, so I'm continuing on the flatlay rainbow with some of my purple-coloured possessions today. These are all little things I had lying around in my bedroom.

1. My battered old copy of Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary'.

2. A bottle of The Body Shop's Frosted Plum shower gel.

3. A bar of The Body Shop's Frosted Plum soap.

4. A frog queen Christmas decoration from The Christmas Boutique.

5. A dark purple beaded necklace. I've no idea who by. I think my Mum gave it to me years ago.

6. A bobbin of metallic purple curling ribbon from Paperchase.

7. A shiny snowflake Christmas decoration, also from Paperchase.

8. Richard Laymon's 'Dreadful Tales'.

9. A tin of Moomin notecards.

10. Lilac Kiko nail lacquer, shade 338.

11. Lavender Kiko nail lacquer, shade 332.

12. Lush Emotional Brilliance liquid eyeliner 'Feeling Secure'. It's dried up, so I need to repurchase.

13. A little book of Moomin sticky notes.

14. A pair of old dark-purple button-like studs from Accessorize.

15. A pair of purple rose earrings, I think came in a set from Accessorize.

16. An awesome lilac macaron ring from And Mary a few years ago.

17. A faded glittery, sequined eyeshadow brush from the late Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful. 

18. Plus a blusher brush in the same design. They're at least 7-8 years old but I still love them!

19. A cheap candle lighter.

20. Trio of Bourjois Paris Smokey Eyes eyeshadows in 'Violet Romantic'.

21. A roll of lavender geometric washi tape from Paperchase.

22. An awesome My Little Pony Brooch made by the lovely Rachel from Old Lady At Heart.

23. Four Inglot eyeshadows in a four pan palette.

24. A bold beaded bracelet that came as part of a set from Dorothy Perkins.

25. A small metallic star Christmas decoration from Paperchase.

26. A wooden ring, I think I bought from Camden Lock Market many moons ago. 

27. A roll of stripy lilac washi tape from Sainsburys.

28. A DVD of Friends series 10, episodes 5-8.

29. My old little Canon point and shoot camera.

30. A fabric hair tie from Accessorize.

31. Three mini Crayola colouring pencils.

32. Barry M nail paint, shade 161 'Vivid Purple'.

33. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish, shade 'Bewitched'.

Do you own many purple things?

Other Colourful Collage Posts

Red

Orange

Yellow

Light Green

Dark Green

Light Blue

Cobalt Blue

Navy Blue

Colourful Collage: Light Blue

I've got a new colourful flatlay (well, flat-ish!) for you today, and this week the theme is 'light blue.'

1. A hardback Moomin notebook, which my sister bought me after a trip to the hospital.

2. Garnier Refreshing Start Afresh Toner with lotus blossom and moringa.

3. Two swarovski-crystal rings, that I bought from Camden Lock Market six or seven years ago.

4. A travel adaptor. 

5. Max Factor Max Effect mini nail polish in Dazzling Blue.

6. A length of baby blue gingham ribbon.

7. A packet of tiny polka dot craft buttons. I've had them since 2009 and still haven't used any!

8. The prettiest seahorse-print notebook from Paperchase. I use it as a reading journal, to keep track of the books I've read.

9. Three glitter, sequined make up brushes from Lush's old sister brand, Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful.

10. Rimmel Exaggerate waterproof eye definer pencil in Aqua Sparkle.

11. An old snowflake Christmas decoration from Paperchase. I have them in several different colours.

12. Some cornflower-blue thread, left over from an Easter cross stitch I made earlier this year.

13. A Models Own pastel nail art pen

14. A blue gingham hair clip, which I bought in New York four years ago.

15. Mamma Mia on DVD. Definitely one of the most uplifting films I've ever seen; it never fails to make me smile.

16. A polka dot pencil from Greengate.

17. A 'Turquoise' Crayola colouring pencil.

18. A nail art dotting and striping tool.

19. Madonna's The Immaculate Collection on CD. It's a classic! You can't beat a bit of eighties Madonna.

20. Ciaté pastel-blue mini nail polish in Ferris Wheel.

21. Three gemstone Christmas decorations from Paperchase.

22. A Nivea original lip butter, still sealed in plastic. 

23. A postage-stamp scrapbooking thing.

24. A great pair of turquoise tweezers from Mont Bleu.

25. A glass nail file, also from Mont Bleu.

26. A piece of journaling paper from a Smash Pad, which says: "Quick! Quick! Write that good idea down!"

27. Chevron washi tape. I think this was also from Paperchase. I may be a little addicted to that shop!

28. Three polka dot hair clips from Cath Kidston.

29. My strawberry print passport cover from Cath Kidston.

It bugs me that I didn't squeeze one more thing in to the collage to end on an even thirty! Sorry if it bugs you, too.

It was a little harder to find light blue things for this week's post than it was with other colours on other weeks. I found I don't really own many things in light blue, or in pale pastel colours, in general. It's not that I don't like pastels, I actually love them- I just prefer bold, bright colours. (Yes, and water is wet!) I had to rely on a lot of items from my dressing table, and bookshelves again. Hopefully next week I'll have a little more variety.

Do you own anything interesting in light blue?

Other posts in the series

Red

Orange

Yellow

Light Green

Dark Green

Colourful Collage: Dark Green

This week, I've gathered up some of my dark green things for another colourful collage. 

Dark greens, like forest and emerald, are my absolute favourite colours. I can't get enough of them. I don't have a huge amount of dark green stuff because it's not the easiest colour palette to find, but I own enough to warrant a post. Here are some of the dark green things I own.,,

1. Lost Season 3 box set. Still one of the best TV shows of all time... mostly because of Sawyer and Sayid!

2. A polka dot, oil-cloth purse from Cath Kidston.

3. One of my fave pieces of knitwear, a forest green long-sleeved cardi from Next. 

4. An old keeper-belt from Dorothy Perkins.

5. My favourite nail polish, Barry M's 'Racing Green'. The shade of green is so dark it's almost black.

6. A fabric belt from an old Red Herring shirt dress.

7. A grass green Kiko nail polish in shade 343.

8. A shimmery, glittery Kiko nail polish in shade 533.

9. A roll of Hobbycraft raffia left over from Christmas.

10. An old gemstone bracelet from either Dorothy Perkins or Evans; I forget which.

11. A handful of dark green Indian bangles bought from a market in France in 2007.

12. A stunning emerald-green glitter eyeliner from Urban Decay's Heavy Metal range called 'Stagedive'. I adore it.

13. A Bourjois Smokey Eyes eyeshadow trio in Vert Trendy.

14. An expensive necklace made from all sorts of semi precious stones, that I bought in the noughties and have barely worn! A big waste of £100. 

15. A glittery gel pen. Who had these in every colour under the sun in the nineties? I think every line of my school work was a different colour!

16. An Accessorize flower hair grip.

17. A metallic Christmas bow.

18. A glittery Too Faced eyeliner called 'Obsessed Fan', yep, that's me.

19. A Bourjois Regard Pailleté sparkling eyeliner in Vert Stupefiant

20. A green and black houndstooth hair slide from Accessorize.

21. A Project Life journaling card.

22. Three Hobbycraft colouring pencils.

23. A heart-shaped, glazed apple scented soap from last year's Body Shop advent calendar.

24. Bourjois eyeshadow in Extrait de Fard, a gorgeous forest green that makes a great smokey-eye alternative to black.

25. An old beaded bracelet from Dorothy Perkins.

26. And the Friends Best of Christmas DVD. I haven't watched it in years!

Dark green, yay or nay?

Other posts in the series

Red

Orange

Yellow

Light Green

Colourful Collage: Light Green

This week I've rounded up a bunch of my light green things for another colourful collage. 

Green is one of my favourite colour palettes, and I can't get enough of it. I'm particularly obsessed with green eye make up, to the point that I currently have two or three dozen green eyeshadows and eyeliners in my make up drawer! Yes, really! I wear green on my eyes 99% of the time, and I love wearing green on my nails, too. I don't own a large amount of other green things, though, mostly because it's a colour that's not as readily available as other colours. It's probably a good thing it's not as my home would be filled with all things green and I'd end up on an episode of hoarders!

1. Salem's Lot by Stephen King.

2. A sequined trinket pot, one of a set of five.

3. Essie nail polish in Mojito Madness.

4. Inglot nail enamel in shade 319. Inglot make the best nail polishes.

5. Simple Kind To Refreshing Skin facial wash gel.

6. Glazed apple shimmer body lotion from The Body Shop.

7. An old apple necklace from Miss Selfridge. I've probably had it for almost a decade.

8. Paperchase washi tape.

9. Jemma Kidd eyeliner in Contrast.

10. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Yep, the film was based on a book, and I bet you didn't know it's actually a vampire story!

11. A tube of Greengate polka dot pencils.

12. Three green polka dot pencils from said tube of polka dot pencils.

13. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in Grass Slipper. Love this nail polish!

14. The Body Shop Glazed Apple lip gloss.

15. Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.

16. Bourjois eyeshadow in shade 01.

17. An old iPod sock.

18. My sewing snips /scissors.

19. Lush Emotional Brilliance eyeshadow in Healthy. One of my faves!

20.  Lush Emotional Brilliance eyeshadow in Intuitive.

21. ASOS space-themed friendship bracelet. I forgot I even had it.

22. A snowflake Christmas decoration from Paperchase.

23. A dotting / striping nail art tool.

24. Bourjois Regard Effect Duochrome eye liner pencil in shade Vert Doré.

25. A pale green gemstone-shaped Christmas decoration from Paperchase.

Do you own a lot of green things? 

Other posts in the series

Red

Orange

Yellow

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My green eye make up collection.

Colourful Collage: Yellow

This week's colourful flatlay is dedicated to all things yellow; one of my favourite colours.

1. 642 Things To Draw book. A book full of drawing prompts, and plain paper to draw on.

2. Original Source Quench pineapple body lotion. The scent is to die for!

3. Waikiki Melon Yankee Candle.

4. Neal's Yard Bee Lovely To Your Hands hand cream.

5. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk.

6. Pretty mustard-yellow rose hair clips,

7. Honey Mania lip butter from The Body Shop.

8. A River Island clutch I've had since at least 2003. I think it may actually be the oldest bag I own!

9. A "currently loving" piece of journaling paper from a La De Dah pad.

10. A pack of lemon Lockets cough sweets.

11. Carmex lip balm.

12. A pair of false eyelashes I'm saving for the right occasion.

13. A Cath Kidston canape flag. 

14. Lemon yellow Inglot eyeshadow.

15. Sunshine yellow Inglot eyeshadow.

16. A Project Life card.

17. Burt's Bees replenishing lip balm with pomegranate oil.

18. Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express waterproof mascara. One of the best mascaras I've ever tried!

19. A little wooden elephant, which my parents brought me back from a trip to Sri Lanka.

20. A length of lemon and white gingham ribbon. It didn't want to cooperate with the camera.

21. A nail art dotting tool.

22. An Indian bangle which I bought, along with about a hundred others, during a holiday to France about a decade ago.

23. A Hobbycraft rosette embellishment thing-a-ma-jig for crafting.

24. Lemon yellow Sally Hansen nail polish in Yellow Kitty.

25. Three random yellow buttons.

And it was all yellow.

Do you have a lot of yellow things, or is it not the colour palette for you?

Other posts in my rainbow flatlay series: 

Red.

Orange.

Colourful Collage: Orange

Last week I began a new feature called Colourful Collages, a series which basically involves me putting together a new colour-themed flat lay each week, and then blogging about it. And I'm challenging myself to go through as many colours as possible. 

Last week I started with red, and it only seemed right to continue on today with the next colour in the rainbow- orange; well, obviously!

1. Night In The Lonesome October paperback novel by Richard Laymon.

2. The Body Shop satsuma shower gel. (The best shower gel ever!)

3. EOS medicated tangerine lip balm.

4. Paperchase orange and silver tea light holder.

5. Marks and Spencer mango moisturising lip balm.

6. Herbal Essences uplifting volume dry shampoo.

7. Hairspray DVD. (Love this film; I'm a big fan of musicals!)

8. The Body Shop satsuma body butter.

9. Novelty radio necklace from Accessorize.

10. Some loose plastic sequins; spares from an unknown piece of clothing.

11. Barry M Gelly Hi Shine nail paint in Mango.

12. Accessorize ladybug studs.

13. A pair of real yellow topaz earrings my Mum gave me. Yellow by name, orange by nature.

14. An orange and yellow iPod sock. (From the days of 1st generation iPod minis!)

15. A Project Life journal card.

16. Orange soft pastels, barely used. (I've had the box of pastels since I was fifteen!)

17. The Body Shop Born Lippy watermelon lip balm.

18. A piece of creative journaling paper from a Smash Book pad with the topic 'Most Memorable'.

19. A metal fox brooch from Cath Kidston.

20. Three coloured pencils from Hobbycraft.

21. An Accessorize snag-free hair tie.

22. Ciaté mini nail polish in Hopscotch.

23. A pineapple notecard from a pack of fruit-themed Paperchase notecards.

24. Clinique Chubby Stick in Oversized Orange.

I'm surprised by how many orange things I have lying around; these are just some of them! I personally love the colour orange, but I think it's one of those colours you either love or you hate. To some, it's garish, but to me orange is the happiest colour palette, so I have no problem having lots of it in my house. In fact, I don't think I have enough!

Orange; yay or nay?